Mass Effect: Andromeda Apex mission briefing hints at the arrival of the Quarians

The Elcor, Hanar, Volus, and Drell may be on the way too.

EA may be taking a break from the Mass Effect series, but it's not walking away from Mass Effect: Andromeda. In fact, based on the briefing for Apex mission 08, it sounds like the Quarians, a major race in the original trilogy who did not appear in the new game, may be about to put in an appearance.

The video briefing playing above says nothing about it, but the more detailed breakdown at masseffect.com certainly seems to be hinting at the Quarian arrival. It covers the "successful upload into Remnant systems by Apex personnel," how they were able to learn more about Remnant technology, and how that knowledge was used to shut down the Archon's "most significant Remnant device." It's all a fairly straightforward plot recap until about halfway through, when the good stuff hits.

"I strongly recommend sending Apex to investigate this Remnant observatory and hack its systems for more complete data. Though reclaiming it from any active Remnant will be dangerous, the communications cached in these Remnant artifacts suggest that the observatory is receiving signals that have gone undetected by Initiative observers. From my initial transcriptions, they deserve immediate investigation," the briefing says.

"ANALYSIS: '…trying to boost the signal. Unknown if… tech seems to be helping even if we don't know the… back to Keelah Si'yah. …way home.']"

The Mass Effect Wiki tells us that Keelah Si'yah is the Quarian ark, which also carries Drell, Hanar, Elcor, and Volus. Its launch was delayed because of the more complex biological requirements of its passengers; it apparently did arrive in the Heleus Cluster at some point, but may have come under attack by Kett forces. Perhaps it's getting time to finally address that problem?

I don't think that the arrival of the Quarian ark, if it actually happens, will be enough to turn around Andromeda's fortunes at this point. But good DLC can go a long way toward redeeming a game in the eyes of players. And if nothing else, the arrival of the Hanar and the Elcor opens the door to some fun fan service—like that Blasto spin-off adventure we've all been waiting for.

Andy covers the day-to-day happenings in the big, wide world of PC gaming—the stuff we call "news." In his off hours, he wishes he had time to play the 80-hour RPGs and immersive sims he used to love so much.